Sunday, November 12, 2006

RIAA Presents: "Dirt Bacharach," a 15-track download-album pitting the lush, sophisticated melodies of Burt Bacharach's '60s classics vs the sometimes harsh sounds of modern music and life.

Some are straight-ahead mash-ups. In "Birds," The Carpenters' "Close To You" gets twisted into dark satire. Others are complex Negativland-like sound-collages, such as "Magic Moments," in which excerpts from a documentary on inner-city children are ironically juxtaposed against the corny sentimentality of Perry Como. And then there's some silly sound-effects-laden novelties, and Alanis Morrisette gets a long-overdue smack-down.

SONG NOTES: (Many of the Bacharach instrumentals used are from the following albums: "Music Minus One: Bacharach For Pianists," Enoch Light & The Light Brigade "Spaced Out," Christopher Scott "Switched-On Bacharach")

The term mash-up has been tainted. But this is something that thinks about the concept. The album is very quickly growing on me. And has helped me through the first week of 2008. Seriously good. Will be playing this on my radio show in Melbourne, Australia